Warhammer 40,000 Fanon Wiki:How to Create a Fanon Traitor Imperial Guard Regiment
This guide is to help users to create their very own traitor Imperial Guard Regiment! Basically, creating a traitor Astra Militarum regiment is actually quite similar to creating a loyalist Astra Militarum Regiment, the idea needs to be original and exciting as usual. After making a loyalist Imperial Guard Regiment, you need to adjust it to appear as a heretical force. Below, you will see how this can be done. May the loyal servants of the Emperor be victorious. The Roots of Corruption The first step is to create their background. This may have been done before when the user has created their own Imperial Guard Regiment, but you need modify their background and write about their betrayal. In order to have a good backstory, your idea needs to be unique. This however, doesn't mean you can't have help. Below are some of the more common reasons why the mighty Astra Militarum may have forsaken their oath to the glorious Emperor of Mankind and chose to dwell in the pits of chaos. #The regiment may be corrupted through the use of foul chaos sorcery, artifacts etc. #All commanding officers within the regiment may have been corrupted or slain, forcing the regiment to betray the Imperium. #A mutiny against the commissars may have taken place, and what's left of the regiment may have defected en masse. #A secret chaos cult may have been secretly established at the heart of the regiment, causing it to be corrupted and rebelling when the time is right. Aftermath After your regiment successfully defects, what does it do? What sort of connection does it have with Chaos? Do they worship one god in particular, or regard chaos as a whole and refuse to join the bickering of the so called gods? Maybe, they don't even worship chaos at all? Maybe, they believe that the Imperium is corrupt instead and are actually not heretics but renegades. The choice here is yours to make. Order Through Anarchy How is the regiment organized? This question has three answers actually: #The officers are still alive so the regiment mostly maintains it's former organization and chain of command. #The officers are no more and you need to come up with something smart to make them stay "organized". #There is no such thing as a chain of command or organization as the strongest rule alone, but can be overthrown anytime. Anarchy is their true overlord, and no one else can truly have power. The Wheels of Change To ensure that your regiment is not immediately annihilated, there needs to be way to introduce "fresh blood" into the regiment, and how it is done is really up to you. The possibilities are nearly endless regarding this topic. Same Rules, New Overlords Does the regiment have a new base of operations, a place they have invaded and consider home, or do they live in a ship/space hulk and are driven mad with slaughter and corrupted to the bone? Here are some recommendations: #The regiment invaded/seized a planet or a part of it and built a secret base in a village/city. #The regiment considers a ship their home, one that was seized by mutiny while they were transported to another location. #The regiment managed to board a space hulk and were driven mad by the chaotic corruption it inflicted. they consider it "home" and may have reverted to a more primitive state. Unique Members/Traitors The Imperial Guard is the incarnation of quantity, meaning your traitor guardsmen are similar to a chunk of meat in a meat grinder. They have no importance, value or specialty within the eyes of the Chaos Gods and the Imperium alike. However, there can be individuals that are unique and important within the regiment. Just don't try listing all the members of the regiment and giving them a unique personality, because not only that would take really long, it is also not practical as the man you've just described can die hours later and no one would mourn him. Such is the grimdarkness of the 40k that not everyone in a regiment can be special. You need to sort out who are the "cannon fodder", and who are the "important characters" you want to write about. To Hate, or Not To Hate To whom does the regiment have a grudge against? They can hate a specific god of chaos and their worshipers, the Imperium (note that while it is fine to state that they are against the Imperium, it is highly recommended that you also add a specific organization/force within it as well), or they can go completely renegade and consider everyone, except their own, their hated enemies.